Ecommerce beats Y2K spend – soon

Half of the IT market by 2002

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IT spending is set to climb 50 per cent by 2002, spurred on more by ecommerce than Y2K, says GartnerGroup. Worldwide sales will reach $2.2 trillion this year, with around Y2k upgrades accounting for 40 per cent of the total. By 2002, however, the market will grow to £3.3 trillion with ecommerce accounting for 50 per cent of IT spend. Gartner predicts a major sales surge in 12 months time, again mostly due to e-business. IT will become more mainstream, with ecommerce integrated into businesses, it said. Gartner advocates an "holistic" approach to ecommerce. One all-encompassing business plan with e-business driving all technology would be more successful than lots of different project strung together, it said. "Enterprises must properly integrate e-business and IT planning into the core business planning this year, or they may have to make that IT expenditure again next year," warns Lou Marcoccio, a Gartner research director. ®